We have work to do
From the moment we came together five years ago to build a community for women, it’s been a core objective of ours to advance the careers of all women — including women of all races. In particular, we’ve tried to support women of color and include intersectional experiences in our content, VIP contributor group, role model profiles, webinars, podcasts and at our annual summit, Galvanize.
In our line of work, we often encounter companies who want to be more diverse but worry about being transparent. Our counsel is that nobody is perfect. While they have taken the first step by acknowledging shortcomings, we then encourage them to take additional, concrete actions. This is also true for us. We believe we can and should do better as a company.
We’re encouraged by the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, and that it is getting overdue, international attention. We are committed to using this moment to publicly commit to taking more action. In particular, we acknowledge that our own, albeit small, employee base is not diverse enough. We should improve our internal recruiting policies and be more systematic in setting diverse representation metrics within our marketing and content-creation processes.
To that end, we are creating a new Diversity & Inclusion plan for our business. It covers actions such as:
1) Sharing our metrics publicly: By month’s end, we will anonymously survey our employees and publish our colleagues’ demographic data by race, gender, sexual orientation, ability and other diversity dimensions, including a breakdown of the leadership team vs. total employee base**;
2) Revising our recruiting and hiring policies to ensure diverse candidate slates and set concrete, measurable goals for improving our company’s internal diversity data;
3) Creating a new content creation process that incorporates representation standards that covers images, editorial sources and role model profile backgrounds on our platform; and
4) Setting performance metrics for employees so there is accountability and consequences for these diversity goals.
We believe one of the most important things we can do right now is listen to marginalized, under-represented voices in our community. We welcome you — our supportive and diverse community — to send us your suggestions and ideas about how we can improve this platform. You can add them in the comments or email us at [email protected].
As Bozoma Saint John expressed at our Galvanize event last year, women will not achieve equality until black women do. We could not agree more.
- Georgene and Romy (co-founders of Fairygodboss)
** Update: our first employee demographic survey is available here: https://fairygodboss.com/articles/2020-fairygodboss-employee-demographics
Browse recent posts
Charleston, SC, Orlando, FL, or Charlotte, NC?
My fiance and I are trying to determine where to live next. Some things that are important to us are: plenty of things to do every weekend such as food festivals, walkable areas, good food, plenty of young people to help us create a sense of community, plenty of job opportunities for growth, safety, etc.
Does anyone live in these areas who could provide insight on which one might be better?
0 Likes • 3 Comments
The workplace is high school.
Some places are worse than others. I see blatant favoritism from upper leadership down to administrative staff. This is why I want to work fully remote so I don’t have to deal with the petty office politics from the snub from a coworker passing by to promotions of the favorites. This is the type of company I am working for. I will be gone in a month since I am moving. It’s old and draining. Just needed to vent.
1 Like • 4 Comments
Resume keywords where do I look for them or what would count as keywords for jobs like Receptionist/office manager?
I need to know as my resume has been getting nothing but denials left and rights since May of this year and its becoming disheartening. My husband is working full time so thankfully we have our basics covered but I need to get back into the work force soon.
0 Likes • 5 Comments
Not enjoying my new role.
I just graduated from college this past May and would have loved to get a job in brand marketing for entertainment. I was unsuccessful and recently was able to get an admin assistant job at a university. I work 9-5 and I answer just a few phone calls and emails a day. I feel like my talent is being wasted and I would love to be in another role that truly highlights my skills and brings me a challenge. That being said, as an employee of the University I am eligible for tuition remission and would be able to work towards getting an MBA for very little cost, but would have to be an employee until that would be completed which would be mid 2025. I feel very stuck and unsure of what I should do.
Any advice from anyone who has had similar struggles in finding a role they enjoy? What did you do about it?
1 Like • 13 Comments
New COO
We have a new COO that I directly report to. He is the most impatient, dictatorial person I have ever worked for. Additionally, he is quite eccentric. When speaking with me in meetings, he walks around his office/conference room combo and flails his hands in the air while talking - many times circling the large conference room many times - almost like some type of madman. He probably does that with others as well. I find myself also circling trying to understand him and follow the bouncing ball.
His dictatorship style of leadership does not mesh well with me either. I don't have a lot of experience working with dictators and it makes me angry when he dictates. I want to say something back to him but everyone at the company is walking on eggshells right now.
Besides applying to jobs, I am trying to deal with his mess until I find something.
Has anyone experienced this or can anyone provide advice on how to navigate through this?
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
0 Likes • 9 Comments
SharePoint Admin/Salesforce Admin/ServiceNow Admin
I'm looking for some advice from someone who has held one of these positions. What has been your experience working in these roles: is there a low barrier to entry, is there a good balance of challenge in the work, and are there opportunities for growth?
0 Likes • 2 Comments
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